


Welcome to the Dollhouse

by leen_go (cagedchaos)



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: M/M, dollhouse!AU, not edited, really awful
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-01
Updated: 2013-05-01
Packaged: 2018-10-25 10:06:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,410
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10762050
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cagedchaos/pseuds/leen_go
Summary: Sometimes, Lu Han just needs a distraction from work, and the Dollhouse provides what he needs.Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this fictional work.





	1. Prologue

You could say that Lu Han was your typical rich boy type, and you would have been correct if you were referring to the Lu Han from seven years ago. Being the sole heir to Endira Research and Solutions had made him an entitled playboy who took his wealth for granted. The only thing he didn’t have was luck.  
  
Today’s Lu Han was the product of a fiery car crash, a medical miracle and half a year of rehab. He went from partying in celebrity clubs to proposing business partnerships in classy restaurants, from waking up past noon with a hangover to leaving as soon as the sun rose because of problems at one of the company’s labs, from gracing the covers of tabloid magazines to posing for the cover of ‘The Economist’.  
  
Of course, not everyone was perfect, and Lu Han was no exception. ERS was in the habit of providing funding for various projects, one of which included the infamous Dollhouse, an underground organization that sought to fulfill the needs of those who could afford their services. For Lu Han, the Dollhouse provided him with companionship along with occasional true friendship that was difficult to achieve in the fast-paced, dog-eat-dog culture of the business world. Of course, Lu Han knew that none of his _engagements_ with what the Dollhouse called _imprinted actives_ were what he considered real; these were people who had been programmed to act a certain way and to do certain things. Their pasts were all fabricated and once an engagement was over, the active’s memory of it was wiped, a clean slate that waited to be imprinted with someone new and completely different.  
  
So what of the original personalities that belonged to the actives? Lu Han couldn’t care less. He’d heard once that they were volunteers who got handsome dollar figures in exchange for a handful of years of their life, after which they were free to do what they pleased. Their original selves were stored in hard drives on a shelf somewhere, waiting for the day their contract was completed. Honestly, Lu Han found the idea of being an active tempting; who wouldn’t want actions without consequences? Only, he was too high profile, and certainly, the Dollhouse had little to gain with Lu Han as one of their actives.


	2. One

“Hellooo? Anyone still in there?” Lu Han blinked when he felt knuckles rapping at his head lightly. He looked up to find an amused look on Kris’ face. “Hey, where _are_ you?”  
  
Lu Han smiled again as he looked down at his dinner, “Oh, sorry about that. Just thinking about work is all. Promise it won’t happen again.”  
  
“Good,” Kris picked up a piece of chicken from his own plate with his chopsticks and held it out to Lu Han to eat, “because you promised me a whole weekend, and I refuse to have to share it with _work_.”  
  
Lu Han bit down on the morsel with a grin. Kris was one of the less frequent requests he made at the Dollhouse, mostly because next to Kris, Lu Han always looked like he was at least five years younger than he actually was. But Kris was a good distraction, as were most of his favourite Dollhouse requests. Kris always had everything planned out and Lu Han just had to follow along. Kris was responsible enough that Lu Han could just act like the kid he wanted to be, without his business obligations. And most of all, Kris was _hot_.  
  
But then again, so were all of the twenty-six actives available at the Dollhouse, one for every letter of the alphabet, most of which Lu Han had used at one point or another. By accident, Lu Han had learned that Kris was referred to as _Alfa_ when he wasn’t imprinted and it had made Lu Han laugh because it was _so fitting_ for him to have a name that so closely resembled _alpha_ , as in the alpha male of a wolf pack. Despite Kris’ perfection, he was not Lu Han’s favourite, though to be fair, Lu Han didn’t have a favourite: he liked all of his toys equally.  
  
“Now, hurry up and finish, or we’re going to miss the movie,” Kris said with finality as Lu Han shovelled rice into his mouth.  
  
“Yessir,” Lu Han mocked with a salute. Yes, Kris was controlling and Lu Han certainly liked it.  
  
…  
  
“Oh, if only the world could see Lu Han now, sprawled across his living room couch playing video games like he doesn’t have a multi-billion dollar business to run.”  
  
Lay was probably the only one of two non-romantic imprints Lu Han ever requested that wasn’t for romantic engagements, though Lu Han found it highly ironic given his name. (The only other non-romantic imprint was Minseok, whom Lu Han used for a partner to practice soccer with.)  
  
No, Lay was the one character that Lu Han had assigned the term ‘best friend’ to. Lay knew Lu Han like Lu Han would never let anyone else know him. Lay knew that despite the pretty face, Lu Han considered himself one of the manliest guys out there (Kris, of course, stood on a completely different level).  Lay knew that even if Lu Han was the face of EDS, he had problems with self-confidence and was shy behind that smile. Lay knew that even when Lu Han was working hard into the night, sometimes, he just wanted to pull out his laptop and play games. Lay never judged Lu Han and was always there for a shoulder to lean on when Lu Han was having a hard time and just needed a friend.  Lay was Lu Han’s voice of reason. Lay was also the one who would cook for him when he was tired of the chefs at home and didn’t feel like calling take-out. Too bad Lay sucked at video games.  
  
“And, that’s another point for me,” Lu Han tossed his controller on the couch seat beside him and reached out to pick up his beer and a handful of chips. “You suck at games, Lay.”  
  
“How do you know I’m not just letting you win?” Lay returned as he stared at the various snacks on the table, trying to decide which to start on.  
  
“I just said: because you suck.”  
  
…  
  
Kai was easily Lu Han’s most requested imprint. Kai was the perfect mix of cute and sexy and it drove Lu Han nuts every time Kai smirked. Lu Han liked Kai most because things with him were the simplest. Kai didn’t like attachments but was still immensely committed to whatever he was doing which meant that while his visits with Lu Han were short, Lu Han always had fun. Kai was the one Lu Han called when all he wanted was a one-night stand who was also considerate enough to make breakfast in the morning before the two parted ways. Kai was also the only one of the imprints that Lu Han used that didn’t remember him after each engagement; they’d meet at a bar _for the first time_ , they’d meet while collecting insurance information _for the first time_ , they’d meet at a business networking mixer _for the first time_. It didn’t matter because Lu Han didn’t have to know Kai to have Kai.  
  
…  
  
It was the beginning of March when the Dollhouse announced to one of its most important clients about a new active that had replaced the previous Sierra that had completed their contract. Lu Han remembered the day distinctly, given that he’d lost an important contract to one of EDS’ competitors and that it’d been sleeting outside, making the night air brisker than usual.  
  
“What the hell do you mean Kai’s unavailable tonight?” Lu Han hissed into his phone as he peeled off his jacket and tossed it onto his couch.  
  
“He’s on a different engagement and won’t be back before next week.”  
  
“Just call him back, then.”  
  
“I’m sorry, but you know we can’t do that.”  
  
Lu Han cursed under his breath, “You’re useless. Do you even know who I am? Lu Han. Does that name ring a bell with you? Let me talk to your boss.” He cursed some more when music started playing into his ear as an indication that his call had been put on hold.  
  
“Mr. Lu Han,” the voice on the other line started. Lu Han recognized it to belong to Kim Junmyeon, or as he would prefer to be called, Suho, as in the guardian of all the actives in the Dollhouse. “I’m terribly sorry, but Kilo is out on an engagement. Perhaps we could send you a different active with the same parameters?”  
  
“That’s not going to work, Suho.” Lu Han scowled. He didn’t like switching up imprints in different bodies, it was too hard to keep track of them. He retained information visually, and if the Dollhouse somehow sent the body of Lay with a personality of a Kai, his brain would simply reject the combination. “You know I can’t have Kai’s imprint on anyone but Kai, and the same goes for all your other Dolls.” Lu Han berated himself briefly for having requested every one of the twenty-six actives at least once.  
  
“We prefer to call them Actives, Mr. Lu Han,” Suho corrected politely before pressing on, “Well, we do have a new Sierra,” Suho stated simply.  
  
Lu Han sighed. “Fine, send him.” It was better than trying to figure out which of his other regulars he would have to pick in place of Kai.  
  
“Would you like an imprint similar to the Kai persona?”  
  
 “No, I’ll come over and build someone new.” While it would have been quicker, Lu Han certainly didn’t need _two_ Kai’s. Lu Han hesitated a moment, “Actually, I’m in a rush, so why don’t you guys just, I dunno, surprise me?”  
  
…  
  
Lu Han sat at his favourite bar with a martini sitting in front of him. Lu Han liked this particular establishment because it was small and not a lot of people knew about it. Translated, it meant Lu Han could enjoy himself without having to check over his back every five minutes for sneaky cameras. He sent a nervous glance towards the clock on the wall. if the Dollhouse was anything, it was intensely focused on details, like punctuality. Problem was, it was 8:04 and except for the bartender and the male in the back corner who’d ordered a ginger-ale, there was no one else around. When he looked out the window, he saw the familiar black van that meant an active’s handler was inside surveying the engagement. Lu Han’s eyes fell on the stranger in the back again and he grabbed his drink. “So this is the new Sierra,” Lu Han muttered to himself as he walked across the room towards the other person.  
  
“Is this spot taken?” Lu Han asked, slipping into the booth before he could get an answer. “My name is Lu Han.”  
  
“Uhm, Oh Sehun,” said a small voice with the faintest hint of a lisp before he sipped from his glass. Lu Han took a moment to memorize his features. A pointed chin and a small mouth. Half-lidded eyes that were shaded by his hair. A pretty face, Lu Han concluded.  
  
“Sehun, huh? That’s a nice name.” An awkward silence followed when Sehun didn’t say anything in reciprocation. “So, what are you doing here, Sehun?” Lu Han tried. So the Dollhouse sent him a shy type; he was up for a challenge.  
  
“I ran away from home,” Sehun replied.  
  
Lu Han almost choked on his drink, “I’m sorry, what?” Sehun shrugged without repeating himself. “How old are you, Sehun?”  
  
Sehun hesitated before answering, “Eighteen.”  
  
Lu Han noticed the backpack that was tucked beside Sehun on the seat and sunk backwards into the seat, making a note to have a word with Suho about the lame joke when this was over. Lu Han was not a fucking babysitter. This kid wasn’t even old enough to order alcohol for Pete’s sake. Lu Han groaned and downed his drink in a single fluid movement. No, having a word with Suho was too gentle, perhaps having a duel would work better.  
  
“What are you doing in a bar, Sehun?” Lu Han asked while he tried to figure out in his head what he was supposed to do with this teenager.  
  
Sehun shrugged, “It was the first place that didn’t look like it was overrun by idiots and perverts.”  
  
“Perverts?” Lu Han asked; he might as well kill time with this Sehun guy because it wasn’t like he could just go up to the Dollhouse and ask for a refund on a defective product.  
  
Sehun shrugged again and provided no explanation, though little was required for Lu Han to infer what Sehun had meant; Lu Han needed only to look at Sehun’s exposed collarbone under his tank top to understand. Lu Han found it amusing that the Dollhouse was able to produce such chaste characters like Sehun given that the majority of their business extended from romantic engagements.  
  
Lu Han clicked his tongue against his teeth and shed his jacket so he could offer it to Sehun. He hadn’t noticed it before, but it was certainly strange that the boy had been out in the sleet with only a tank top and jeans. “Here, better not catch a cold.  
  
Sehun eyed the jacket with suspicion before accepting Lu Han’s offer with a soft “Thanks.”  
  
“Why’d you run away from home?” Lu Han asked, and wasn’t surprised when Sehun shrugged again.  
  
“Doesn’t matter.”  
  
Lu Han tried his best not to grimace at the teenager. It was hardly _his_ fault that Lu Han had spent roughly a million dollars for a night that was turning out to be crap. He sighed heavily before slapping a bill onto the table that more than covered for both of their drinks, “Look. Obviously, I won’t be getting what I had thought I’d be getting tonight, and am instead stuck here with you. And you probably haven’t had anything fun to do in the last… like forever, so how about we make a compromise? You and I pretend we’re best friends, and we go do something fun… ish.”  
  
Sehun made a face, obviously trying to assess whether or not he should trust him. “Can we go for bubble tea?”  
  
…  
  
Lu Han didn’t know what to make of the fact that he had had fun hanging out with Sehun that night. Lu Han had made it a habit of never bringing a Doll back to his own home (except Lay) but this Sehun was essentially homeless and Lu Han didn’t feel like grabbing a hotel room for what the Dollhouse referred to as “non-romantic engagements”. He was pretty sure that Sehun might have been imprinted with a romantic parameter, but Lu Han sure as hell had no plans to get into bed with this… _child_ , even if the body didn’t seem to match the age.  
  
Lu Han had made another call to the Dollhouse when the two left the bar and fortunately for him, Lay was available to drop by to help out with the odd situation that had presented itself, which was perhaps an explanation for why he hadn’t thought the night a complete bust. The trio ended up playing a game of “Kings”, even though Sehun wasn’t legally allowed to drink. After waterfall-ing a beer for too long, Sehun had gotten up and excused himself to go to the bathroom, leaving Lu Han alone with Lay.  
  
“Well, this is new,” Lay commented as he gathered up the cards to shuffle again, “Are all your engagements with the Dollhouse like this? Is this some kind of new fetish you have?”  
  
Lu Han chucked a beer bottle cap at him, “No, Sehun was sent to me by mistake because the Dollhouse couldn’t free up Kai for tonight.” While Lay had no idea that he himself was a product of the imprinting process, Lu Han had chosen for him to know about the Dollhouse, just so Lu Han didn’t have to watch anything he said around his ‘best friend’.  
  
“Well, he’s cute. Maybe I’ll go over to the Dollhouse one of these days and get one for myself.”  
  
Lu Han nearly choked on his drink as he laughed out loud, “That would most certainly be the weirdest thing I will have ever seen.”  
  
Sehun wandered clumsily back to the living room where Lu Han and Lay sat on the carpeted floor, and Lay shot another meaningful glance at Lu Han before setting down the deck of cards. “Well! It’s getting late, and I really should get going.” he said before getting to his feet, grabbing his bottle and raising it in the direction where Sehun was leaning against the couch. “It was great meeting you, Sehun!” He finished the last of his drink and bent over to put it back down on the floor, whispering so that only Lu Han could hear him, “Just send him back if you want to play with him anymore.” And then Lay was out the door, leaving Lu Han alone with Sehun again.  
  
“Well, I guess I should leave too,” Sehun slurred, pushing himself up with the aid of the couch, “You’re been really nice to entertain me for the last couple of hours, but I’ve probably overstayed my welcome,” he continued, nearing tripping over his own feet.  
  
An instinct to look after the eighteen year old over took Lu Han, and before he could think it, he was already standing and offering a steadying hand to the stumbling boy. “Careful, there.” Lu Han had forgotten how realistic the imprints could be and had to remind himself that Sehun was built for this. He wondered why the Dollhouse didn’t make it so their actives could handle their alcohol, or was this stumbling on purpose?  
  
“I’’m sorry,” Sehun muttered, sliding Lu Han’s hand away from his arm. “I’ll just let myself out.”  
  
“You don’t look so good,” Lu Han observed, letting Sehun hobbled towards the exit.  
  
Sehun snorted, “I’ve been worse,” he said, and something in his voice made Lu Han wonder what exactly Sehun had endured in his fabricated past.  
  
“Why don’t you just stay the night?” Lu Han blurted, the suggestion tumbling out of his mouth before he had time to actually think about it.  
  
“No. Thank you, but you’ve already been a great enough host,” Sehun replied just before tripping again and falling.  
  
Lu Han rolled his eyes. “I don’t like repeating myself. I have a guest room you can use.” He hit a button on the wall and paged his butler, telling him to get the guest bedroom ready and to send someone to fetch Sehun, because Lu Han was in no state to do it, being less than sober himself.  
  
Sehun was annoyingly clingy despite the independence he had tried to show downstairs. He’d grabbed Lu Han’s hand just as he had tried to leave and in a tiny voice, asked if Lu Han could stay a little longer, “Just until the night mares go away.”  
  
Lu Han sighed. _Seriously, why not just let the Doll’s handler deal with his drunken ass?_ Lu Han had a meeting with his board of directors the next morning, and he really had no time to take care of someone. Except he’d already dismissed all the workers from the room, the phone he kept on him at all times had a dead battery and the frail looking child was exhibiting a surprisingly strong hold on Lu Han’s hand, preventing him from leaving the bedside.  
  
Lu Han scowled. Why, _why_ , had he suggested that Sehun could stay over?  
  
…  
  
Lu Han woke up in a hunched over sitting position, head in his folded arms on the bed, with Sehun still holding his hand firmly. When he looked up, he found Sehun’s eyebrows furrowed together, eyes squeezed tightly closed. Lu Han wondered fleetingly whether Dolls dreamed, and if they did, what was it that Sehun was dreaming about now?  
  
Yawning, Lu Han gently pried Sehun’s fingers from between his own. As he stretched the sore fingers, Sehun stirred quietly, curling the released hand under the pillow as Lu Han massaged his neck, deeply regretting sleeping in a hunched position. He rolled his eyes a last time at Sehun’s thin frame under the covers before closing the room door quietly and slipping into the shower.  
  
…  
  
Lu Han had assumed that by the time he came home past ten, the doll would be gone. Instead, he found the teenager sitting in front of his television, playing his video games. The scene would have annoyed his less if Sehun wasn’t wearing one of his shirts as he sat lazily.  
  
“I’m sorry,” Sehun apologized hastily when Lu Han glared at him, dropping the controller like a hot potato. The result with a depressing tune coming from the speakers that announced the death of the player. “I wanted to wash my shirt from last night, and then your butler suggested I stick around to wait for you to come home because you didn’t tell him what to do about me, and I guess I just lost track of time playing games, because it’s just been so long and you’ve got _so_ many and I _was_ going to leave but…” he trailed.  
  
Lu Han sighed at the longwinded spiel, “But?”  
  
Sehun’s head dipped, averting his eyes from Lu Han, “I… I have nowhere to go…”  
  
Lu Han sighed again, louder this time as he traipsed past Sehun to grab a glass and slosh a healthy amount of expensive whiskey into it. He turned around to glare at Sehun again, who hadn’t turned and still had his head hung low. Lu Han didn’t like people touching his things and the fact that Sehun was wearing his shirt was just so wrong. Scowling, Lu Han pulled out his phone and dialled the number to the Dollhouse. “Why haven’t you picked up your active yet?!” he growled into the mic, not bothering to mask his irritation. He didn’t bother waiting for a response, hanging up quickly and downing the entire glass’ contents, slamming it dangerously hard onto the mahogany table.  
  
The doorbell rang almost immediately and Lu Han grumbled an exasperated “Finally” when his butler delivered the guest to the living room.  
  
“Would you like a treatment, Sehun?” the suited newcomer asked in a gentle voice and a calming smile. It was the same call-and-response that Lu Han had seen repeated almost a thousand times with all his other engagements.  
  
 “Who’s he?” Lu Han asked Sehun, even though he knew the answer. It was more for continuity than actual curiosity.  
  
Sehun shrugged, “Someone I trust,” he bowed a last time before turning to follow his handler, “I’m sorry to have interfered with your life. Thanks for the roof over my head,” he added feebly, with a small forced smile as he ducked out with his handler at his side and his bag slung over his shoulder.  
  
Lu Han was about to call out to ask for his shirt back, but thought better of it. He wasn’t going to wear something someone else had worn anyway.  
  



	3. Two

“Seriously. Does anyone actually buy this crap?” Lay asked, taking a sip from his flute of bubbling champagne.  
  
Lu Han laughed in agreement, only to nudge Lay in the side when he saw the artist strolling towards them. Mr. Lee was one of ERS’ potential clients and he was also one of the strangest men Lu Han had ever met, believing fervently that he needed to express himself using water colours. He had hired a curator to put together a show for his works, and Lu Han was there as a representative of ERS mainly to kiss ass. “Ah, great collection you have here, Mr. Lee. I particular enjoyed the one with the eagle flying into the sunset.” Lu Han heard Lay beside him cough, an obvious cover up for the snort that Lu Han had heard. Lu Han stepped on his foot in warning and Lay hurried to busy himself with ‘admiring’ the rest of the works.  
  
When Lu Han was finally relieved of Mr. Lee’s snobbish commentary of his pieces, he rolled his eyes and sighed, downing the rest of his drink in one shot and searching for the bar to request another. Where had Lay disappeared to? Lu Han’d requested his presence tonight because Lay was supposed to make the whole ordeal more endurable as they cracked jokes about the credibility of the works. Lu Han had forgotten how useless Lay was when he was expected to act professionally.  
  
As Lu Han waited for his refill, a familiar face that he recognized on billboard advertisements and television commercials showed up beside him. “Where’s Baekhyun?” he asked Chanyeol when he realised that the latter was alone. The couple had met in a bar five years ago and had instantly hit it off. Of course, with Chanyeol being so high profile, the chance of telling the public of their true relationship was close to zero. The story fed to the paparazzi was that they were childhood friends; the two were supposedly inseparable since the age of five.  
  
“I don’t know,” Chanyeol replied in an uncharacteristically snappy tone.  
  
Lu Han raised his eyebrows, “Lovers’ quarrel?” he surmised, thanking the bartender for his newly arrived vodka martini (two olives). Chanyeol was one of the few people Lu Han actually liked, because despite his (understandable) reluctance to come out to the public about his sexual preferences, Chanyeol was an honest person.  
  
Chanyeol shrugged as he ordered a glass of wine, “He got angry because I still refuse to announce our relationship to the world.”  
  
Lu Han’s brow furrowed, “Didn’t you guys agree on that ages ago?”  
  
“ _Thank you_! Now will you please tell _him_ that?” Chanyeol ordered another two shots of tequila, offering one to Lu Han who shook his head; he had a strict aversion to tequila ever since the accident. Shrugging, Chanyeol downed both, squeezing his eyes shut tightlly at the sour taste of the lemon chaser. “Have you seen him by the way? I want him to meet someone.” Chanyeol had a mildly manic look about him and Lu Han couldn’t help but laugh.  
  
“Why would he be here? You just said you two got in a fight.”  
  
“The fight was after I’d already invited him. Besides, I told him he had to come because I wanted to talk.”  
  
“You tricked him into coming? That’s healthy,” Lu Han observed, sipping from his glass. “So who did you want to introduce him to?”  
  
“My new boyfriend,” Chanyeol announced with a ridiculous grin.  
  
Lu Han nearly choked because Chanyeol and Baekhyun wer so grossly in love with each other and there was no way Chanyeol had already moved on. “What?!”  
  
Chanyeol winked, still wearing his stupid smile as he disappeared momentarily, returning with someone in tow. Chanyeol was introducing him to Lu Han only Lu Han was too busy trying not to give away the thoughts running through his mind to hear the name that was given because Sehun was standing beside Chanyeol, smiling widely and dressed in an expensive looking suit. “Are you kidding? You’re using the Dollhouse to get back at your boyfriend?!” Lu Han sputtered, forgetting to lower his voice, and Sehun, or whoever he was at the moment, glanced between Chanyeol and Lu Han with a questioning look on his face.  
  
“Wait, how do you know about the Dollhouse?” Chanyeol whispered, leaning over so that only Lu Han would hear. Lu Han gave Chanyeol a Look. “Oh, nevermind. Should’ve known,” Chanyeol concluded, straightening himself out once more.  
  
Lu Han decided that night that Chanyeol was possibly the worst liar in the world because when Baekhyun finally showed up, Chanyeol barely managed to say hello before breaking down and admitting to trying to make Baekhyun jealous. In an attempt to give the bickering couple some privacy, Lu Han grabbed the arm of Chanyeol’s supposed new boyfriend (whom Lu Han still hadn’t gotten the name of) and pulled him away.  
  
 “So, uh. Where did you meet Chaneyol?” Lu Han asked, mostly to fill in the silence.  
  
“Internet, where else?” Lu Han noticed that whoever Sierra was imprinted with at the moment, they didn’t have a lisp. “But just to clarify, Chanyeol and I aren’t actually in a relationship. He needed someone to make his boyfriend jealous and I needed the money.” He shrugged nonchalantly and Lu Han nodded, wondering if he even wanted to continue this conversation. His brain was still having a hard time combining the body of nervous and naïve Sehun with this confident and self-aware version.  
  
“Have we met before? You seem familiar.”  
  
Lu Han raised a startled eyebrow at the way Sehun’s eyes were narrowed at him; he had, on more than a handful of occasions, encountered the Actives he used on the arm of other people, but this was certainly the first time one had shown the slightest hint of recognizing him. “No, this would be our first meeting.”  
  
The young man opposite Lu Han shrugged, “Huh. Well, I suppose you might just have one of those faces, then,” he said before pulling out his humming phone, excusing himself to answer the call. Lu Han’s eyes couldn’t help but follow his silhouette until he was near the exit where he slung a friendly arm around his handler and left the party.  
  
Lay found now to be the appropriate time to return to Lu Han’s side. “Wait, isn’t that –” he started, before Lu Han rolled his eyes.  
  
“Yes, that was Sehun, except under some other name this time,” Lu Han answered, grabbing Lay’s glass from his fingers and draining it. Lu Han had completely forgotten about the failed engagement with Sehun that night, and perhaps it was the fact that he saw him again on the arm of someone else, but he wanted to see Sehun again. “Come on. Let’s ditch this terrible show.”  
  
Lay grinned, “Oh, thank _god_. I was about to kill myself.”  
  
…  
  
The next time Sehun showed up, it was at Lu Han’s door, with the same backpack from the first night they’d met. He was wearing a different t-shirt and was holding Lu Han’s sweater in his arms. The butler had wanted to send Sehun away for his unruly appearance, but Lu Han had just descended for lunch and had caught Sehun just he was about to turn around to leave.  
  
“I figured I should return this,” Sehun said in his usual quiet voice. His eyes looked like he hadn’t had a decent night’s sleep in days.  
  
Lu Han looked at the sweater wearily but took it back anyway, asking his butler to get someone to replace it into his closet before addressing Sehun again. “Did you want to come in? You look awful.”  
  
Sehun didn’t move, “I don’t want to intrude…” he said, but Luhan heard Sehun’s stomach grumble loudly. Sehun blushed, trying to cover up for his embarrassment by hanging his head and playing with the straps on his tattered backpack.  
  
Lu Han laughed and took Sehun’s hand. “I’ll just get the chefs to prepare another serving for you.” He signalled to his butler again, who left with a bow. “When was the last time you showered?” Lu Han asked with concern, surprising himself.  
  
“I…” Sehun started, and his gaze strayed, fingers folding as he counted.  
  
Lu Han smiled in spite of himself, “Come on, we’ll get a bath running for you.” He signalled another employee who nodded and lead Sehun up the stairs towards the guest bathroom. Sehun shot Lu Han a nervous look and Lu Han returned with what he hoped was an encouraging smile.  
  
When Sehun returned down to the kitchen, a hot plate of pasta was waiting on the table and Sehun sat down wordlessly.  
  
“Go ahead,” Lu Han prompted and that, combined with the intoxicating smell of fresh food was clearly enough for Sehun, who muttered a quick ‘thanks’ before digging into his dish.  
  
Lu Han found himself watching Sehun eat with amusement, not touching his own plate at all. Sehun was obviously very hungry, sparing not even a single crumb from his garlic toast. Lu Han suppressed a laugh when he caught Sehun stealing glances at the plate in front of Lu Han when he thought Lu Han wasn’t looking. “Here. I’m not really hungry anyway,” Lu Han offered, pushing the plate towards the teenager.  
  
Sehun’s cheeks reddened, “I’m sorry.”  
  
Lu Han’s brow furrowed. “Why do you keep saying that?”  
  
Sehun shrugged and stabbed at a piece of penne with his fork. “Why are you being so nice to me?”  
  
Lu Han’s eyebrows shot upwards in shock; he had never imagined that the word ‘nice’ would ever be used in the same context as himself, except in the form of ‘not nice’, what with his newly developed cutthroat ambition. “Uhm…?” He half-answered, not sure how to respond, but it hardly mattered because Sehun had shrugged again and bent over the table.  
  
When Sehun finished, he wiped his mouth with the provided napkin. “Er, thanks. Again, I guess. I should really get going again. I don’t want to get in the way.”  
  
“No, stay,” Lu Han insisted, a little too quickly for his liking as Sehun started to rise. “You liked playing my games last time you were here, right?” Sehun licked his lips quietly, a habit of his that Lu Han learned would show itself whenever Sehun was nervous. “And we can grab bubble tea later, or something,” Lu Han added, recalling the request Sehun had made last time, a request that had gone unanswered because it had been late and all the stores had closed. And also because Lu Han didn’t care for it.  
  
Lu Han still didn’t care for the sickeningly sweet beverage when they arrived at the teashop. He didn’t order anything for himself but paid for Sehun’s chocolate flavoured tea with disgust plain on his features. When Sehun saw his reaction to the wall of coloured powders in jars on the wall behind the cashier, he laughed (for the first time since they met, Lu Han noted). “You’re such an old man.”  
  
Lu Han glared back indignantly. “Am not.”  
  
“Prove it,” Sehun dared, pushing his drink across the table at Lu Han, who scowled: he wasn’t sure he would’ve tried it even before the accident when he had been so much more adventurous.  
  
Sehun rolled his eyes and smiled (again, for the first time, and it made Lu Han shift in his seat at the strange sensation it sent up his back). He pulled the drink back towards him, “Old man.”  
  
Lu Han pouted and glared across the table. Sehun reminded Lu Han of how much like a kid he wanted to act around Kris, but Sehun was definitely nothing like Kris, because he wasn’t commanding at all, shrugging and simply going along with Lu Han’s suggestions. Still, it was nice not conforming to his self-prescribed social limitations.  
  
Lu Han kicked Sehun lightly under the table and found himself laughing at the exaggerated reaction it illicted from Sehun.  
  
…  
  
Even though Lu Han had originally suggested an afternoon of games, the duo ended up going shopping, mostly because Lu Han could no longer stand the way Sehun was dressed. Sehun had declined the offer, but Lu Han had reasoned he was having a birthday the next day and there was no way Sehun could come dressed _like that_. Lu Han could tell that Sehun was feeling guilty for spending Lu Han’s money, but Lu Han pushed anyway; he liked spoiling the boy.  
  
“Why are you being so nice to me?” Sehun asked again and Lu Han shrugged, turning to enter another store. He wasn’t sure of the answer himself.  
  
Several purchased outfits later, Lu Han finally let up. Sehun was still quiet, but was no longer shuffling his feet behind Lu Han like a sick puppy. He strode in step next to Lu Han and eventually pointed towards a puzzle with Bambi as its subject.  
  
“It reminds me of you,” Sehun smiled, grabbing the box from the shelf.  
  
“What? Why?” Lu Han wondered why in the hell Sehun would compare him to an innocent woodland creature.  
  
“I took Chinese lessons when I was still in school. Your surname means deer, doesn’t it?”  
  
“Sure…” Lu Han answered offhandedly. He looked around the toy store they were standing in, “You want anything else?” He asked, starting to pull his wallet out of his pocket.  
  
Sehun reached out and touched Lu Han’s hand lightly. “No. I want to buy this one myself.”  
  
Lu Han crinkled his nose, “But you don’t…” He didn’t know how to tactfully say that Sehun didn’t exactly have money to waste on puzzles.  
  
“I have enough for one gift for a real friend like you.” Sehun smiled one of those rare smiles that he never seemed to reveal quite often enough. He walked away towards the cashier leaving Lu Han with something possibly like warmth in his chest at having been called a real friend.  
  
Lu Han frowned and shook his head: Sehun was a Doll and he had been programmed to behave this way. Lu Han didn’t have any _true_ friends: that was why he’d made Lay.  
  
…  
  
The next time Lu Han saw Sierra was at a business meeting. His client was notorious for being paranoid, and had fashioned himself a capable lawyer that was programmed to work for his best interests and never betray him. Lu Han didn’t know whether to pity his client for being _that_ obsessive about the people he kept in his company, or to pity himself for having to work with such an obsessive person.  
  
Even after seeing Sierra with Chanyeol that other time, it was still unnerving to see Sehun dressed up in a crisp suit and donning a pair of smart glasses. Lu Han spent more time than he cared to admit trying to avoid seeing Sehun in Lawyer Lee.  
  
“Why don’t we continue our discussion over lunch?” The lawyer asked, sensing the unrest between the handful of executives in the room. “Samgyeopsal, perhaps?”  
  
Lu Han pushed to the back his mind the fact that he had eaten the same thing with Sehun the last time they were together. He nodded along with the other men in the room and packed up his files, signalling to his assistant to make sure they had everything they’d need.  
  
…  
  
Lu Han didn’t know why he kept requesting Sehun from the Dollhouse, but he continued to do so, and ‘Sehun’ was quickly rising up his list, almost knocking ‘Kai’ off the top for the amount of times Sehun stopped by just so the two could play games and talk about mundane things. Sehun had even (finally) convinced Lu Han into trying bubble tea and Lu Han found he much preferred the taro-flavoured one to Sehun’s favourite chocolate one.  
  
Lu Han never told Lay that he was seeing Sehun more and more often. He didn’t want Lay to make some stupid comment about getting too attached to his toys.  
  
…  
  
Lu Han hated dinner parties. They were, to him, just an excuse for the host to show off their riches and for the guests to gush over it pretentiously. Not that he wasn’t good at that:“Oh, what a great collection you’ve got, here!” “Is that truly a first edition of ‘Alice in Wonderland’? You must have paid a fortune!” “You _must_ share the story on how you found this great set of chinawear!”  
  
Tonight’s host was the CEO of the largest generic pharmaceutical company in the country and the topic of discussion for the night was the new theatre that she had bought on the side. Typically, Lu Han would request an imprint from the Dollhouse to endure the night, but he was having a hard time deciding whether he wanted Kai, Lay, or Sehun.  
  
When Lu Han made the call, he was irritated to find out that all three were unavailable for the night. Not in the mood for any of his other options, he hung up the phone angrily and changed into a grey suit, nearly choking himself when he pulled his tie into place too briskly.  
  
As his driver pulled up to the estate, Lu Han cleared his throat and took a deep breath as an attendant opened his car door and he stepped out with a perfectly practiced smile on his face. The same smile he tried to keep when he noticed that those whom _he_ recognized as Kai, Lay and Sehun were all “guests” at Mrs. Choi’s party.  
  
As dinner parties went, this one was on the low end of extravagance. When the empty dessert plates had been removed, the guests relocated into a room with comfortable couches and chairs, an invitation for everyone to discuss amongst themselves while the hostess seemed to have made herself scarce.  
  
Lu Han grew bored of the polite small talk quickly, and downed a full glass of champagne, placing the empty flute on a tray that a uniformed server held before heading up the stairs to explore the premises. As expected, all the doors on the upper levels were closed and locked, so Lu Han resorted to simply wandering the halls, his mind on the contracts that he had been working on back at the office. His brainstorming was cut off when he came onto a door that was open but a crack. Curiosity took the better of him and he pushed the door open wider to a room lit only by the fireplace on the opposite side.  
  
Lu Han finally learned where the host of the party had disappeared to. She was sitting in an arm chair with a cushioned back that rose past her head, a glass of red wine swirling in her hand. Lu Han followed her gaze to three others in the room: Kai and Lay were on the bed, naked limbs tangled together while Sehun was standing in the corner, watching with half lidded eyes and his hand around his cock.  And Ms. Choi was simply _sitting there_ , watching with concentration at the scene before her.  
  
Luhan couldn’t help the way his feet seemed glued to the spot, his eyes watching the scene in front of him: it was just too delicious the way Sehun’s eyes were half closed as he touched himself, not to mention the fact that it was possibly the strangest thing seeing his fake best friend losing control with his favourite one-night-stand. Luhan hadn’t meant to walk in on the host of the party enjoying herself, but what he expected less was to be _invited in_. Lu Han had been about to turn and leave when he noticed that the seated observer had turned her focus to Luhan instead of on the trio. She was wearing a distinct smirk on her face and inviting eyes, “Care to join us?” Not sure how to answer, Lu Han felt his jaw clench as he peeled his eyes back towards Sehun, who was now rocking into his own hand. The  hostess of the party raised an interested eyebrow and stood up to stroll towards Sehun. “Michael. Stop.” _Michael? What a crap name._ Lu Han tried to come up with a million different names for Sehun’s current persona in place of giving in to his own rising lust.  
  
Michael opened his eyes, and his hand stopped moving immediately, though Lu Han could still see his body lurching involuntarily for more contact. Michael’s eyes begged the client, who only raised the corners of her red lips mockingly and pointed towards Lu Han, whose panicked eyebrows nearly jumped into his hair in surprise. Why was he still standing here, really? Finally gathering his bearings, Lu Han turned on his heels and started down the hall back the way he came. A strong grip around Lu Han’s wrist stopped him and he felt himself getting dragged back into the room, his back getting thrown into the wall.  
  
“Help me,” Michael breathed into Lu Han’s ear, making him shiver.  
  
“What?” Lu Han answered in a whisper.  
  
“Madame Choi has requested that you _help me_ ,” Michael continued, in perfect English with a seductive British accent as he pressed closer into Lu Han, “And in exchange,” Michael started tracing Lu Han’s neck with his lips, “I’m to do anything you want.”  
  
Lu Han gritted his teeth and closed his eyes tightly. He had no obligation to indulge _Madame Choi_ :  he wasn’t a Doll and he wasn’t programmed to appeal to the kinky fantasies of rich business women. But fuck if the image of innocent Sehun stroking himself off _and speaking in flawless English_ wasn’t a turn on. Lu Han shot a quick look towards _Madame Choi,_ who nodded back encouragingly, taking a slow sip from her glass.  
  
“Help me,” Michael pleaded breathlessly again, rubbing a knee against Lu Han’s inner thigh.  
  
That was all it took for Lu Han to pull Sehun’s face towards his own, their lips meeting and immediately parting to explore each other. Lu Han guided his hand along Sehun’s length repeatedly as the latter undid the zipper on Lu Han’s pants and cupped him through the fabric as he continued tracing his lips down to Lu Han’s collar bone.  
  
“Sehun,” Lu Han gasped, clamping his hand over his mouth when he realised his mistake.  
  
Michael only smiled in return, “I can be whoever you want.”  
  
…  
  
Lu Han knew as soon as Sehun’s name slipped past his lips the night before that he was in trouble and he spent the next week avoiding anything that had to do with the Dollhouse, but the universe, as usual, had other things in mind for him.  
  
…  
  
“Jeez, why the long face?” Krystal didn’t bother knocking on the door as she stepped into Lu Han’s bedroom and lounged across his king-sized bed. She ignored the exasperated look Lu Han shot her and continued, “Hey, guess what?  
  
Lu Han sighed at his younger cousin, “What?”  
  
“I finally got a date to go to prom with!”  
  
Lu Han raised a sceptical eyebrow, “Really? How on earth did you manage to find someone on such short notice? Isn’t it the day after tomorrow?”  
  
Krystal pouted, “Well, I wouldn’t have had that problem if you would have agreed to go with me!”  
  
Lu Han laughed lightheartedly as he walked up to his bed and shoved his cousin to the side so he could hop up beside her. “I’m too old to go to a prom, Krysie.”  
  
Krystal rolled her eyes, “Yeah, but you could still pass for a teenager.”  
  
Lu Han frowned at the unintended insult, and changed the topic promptly, “So who is this guy?”  
  
“Dunno yet. I’m getting him tomorrow but I _know_ he’s going to be perfect for me.”  
  
“What?”  
  
Krystal grinned wider and rolled onto her side so she could pull out a pocket-sized photo from her pocket. “Isn’t he cute? He’s daddy’s present for graduating!”  
  
Lu Han nearly choked on nothing at the sight of Sierra’s Dollhouse profile picture. “You… This… _Your dad is getting him as your present?”_  
  
Krystal giggled, “Only for the night, though.”  
  
Lu Han raised an eyebrow and resisted the urge to comment on the spoiled nature of his younger cousin. “Don’t you think you’d be happier with someone who _wasn’t_ paid to take you to prom?”  
  
Krystal snorted, “Says the guy who’s a regular at the Dollhouse.” She grinned when she noticed the shocked expression on Lu Han’s face. “Daddy told me.”  
  
Lu Han sighed, “Krysie, you’re really too young to be using the Dollhouse.” His focus turned back to the picture that his younger cousin had given him and he swallowed, not sure any more if he was trying to lecture her because what he was saying was true or because he just didn’t want her to be going with _him._  
  
“When did you start?”  
  
Lu Han sighed exasperatedly again, having forgotten how annoying she could be.  “That’s not the point. Point is that you shouldn’t be doing this.”  
  
“So you’d rather I go to prom, All. By. Myself,” she pouted for effect.  
  
Lu Han groaned at the puppy eyes Krystal was making and regretted his next words as soon as they left his lips, “I’ll go with you.”  
  
By the way Krystal jumped up and hugged Lu Han, he was starting to wonder if she hadn’t done it on purpose. Her methods most likely wouldn’t have proven as effective if she hadn’t accidentally, and luckily, picked Sierra to be her potential prom date.


	4. Three

It was maddening that Lu Han was seeing way more of Sierra that he would like. Even though Lu Han had stopped requesting for Sehun, every time he was introduced to the latter under a different name, the face of Sierra always asked whether the two had met before.  
  
It was this unusual behaviour that made Lu Han interested, for the first time since he started visiting the Dollhouse, in the inner workings of their organisation. When he was informed of the new Tango that had arrived, he used to opportunity to sate his curiosity.  
  
…  
  
“Can you do it?” Lu Han asked, pacing the inside of his office as he his hacker tapped away at his computer’s keyboard.  
  
Do Kyungsoo frowned, “I need to get a direct link into the system. I can’t do it remotely, too many firewalls. I can give you one hell of a shot but I can’t guarantee anything.”  
  
Lu Han cursed audibly, “How?” he asked tersely.  
  
Kyungsoo didn’t answer for another five minutes, when he pulled a portable USB key from his computer and held it out, “Get this  to any computer with admin privileges and we’ll see what we come up with. Five minutes is all I’ll need.”  
  
Lu Han took the flat key and turned it in his hand, “That’s it?”  
  
Kyungsoo rolled his eyes and muttered something that sounded suspiciously like ‘dumbass’ before packing up his computer and leaving. Similarly, Lu Han rolled his eyes as well, muttering “Nerds” before grabbing his jacket and telling his secretary that he’d be out for the next couple of hours.  
  
…  
  
“Mr. Lu?” Suho called, his polished shoes clicking lightly on the ground.   
  
Lu Han stood up from his seat and fixed the button on his suit jacket, “Yes.”  
  
“If you’ll follow me, you will be able to – ”  
  
Lu cleared his throat to interrupt, “Actually, I was wondering if you could give me a tour.”  
  
Suho raised a discrete eyebrow, “Sorry?”  
  
“When I first came here, you offered a tour of the premises and I declined. I’d like to do it now.”  
  
Suho looked unsettled but a moment before he smiled, “Of course, Mr. Lu. If you could give me a moment to talk to my head of security to let him know?”  
  
Lu Han smiled just as politely back, “No problem. I can wait, perhaps in your office where. If I recall, you have a wonderful selection of scotch whiskeys?”  
  
“Certainly,” Suho confirmed as he nodded towards his assistant, “Now, I won’t be but a couple of minutes.”  
  
Lu Han waited for the assistant to close the double doors to the office before he turned towards the computer in the corner, pulling out both his phone and the key that Kyungsoo had given him.  
  
 _Work your magic, genius._ He texted the words hastily as he climbed the two steps to the other part of the office, sticking the device into an available port. Instead of staring at the hands swing around the face of his watch, he crossed to the other side of the office again, picking up a glass and sloshing a healthy amount of amber liquid into it from one of the many decanters. He downed the entire glass, crunching down hard on the ice cubes as he waited impatiently for the next few minutes to pass.  
  
 _Got it._  
  
Lu Han sighed in relief as he pulled the key and slipped it back into his pocket next to his phone just as the office door once more.  
  
“Shall we?” Suho asked.  
  
“With pleasure.”  
  
The two rode the elevator in silence as they descended past the ground floor and into the basement where the doors opened to a spa-like environment.  
  
“Welcome to the Dollhouse, Mr. Lu Han.”  
  
Lu Han didn’t know what to say when he looked around the establishment to find males and females walking calmly back and forth, wearing simple t-shirts and stretching pants. Some were seated at tables, enjoying a meal. Some were running on treadmills or sitting on cushions reading children’s books. Still others were in rooms where they were painting, or getting massages.  
  
“What do you know about the Dollhouse, Mr. Lu?”  
  
Lu Han was still having trouble believing what he was seeing, “Not what I had imagined.”  
  
“What, may I ask, were you expecting?”  
  
Lu Han shrugged as he continued to look in awe at his surroundings, “I dunno, a stacked wall of your whores that get checked out like library books when they’re needed?”  
  
Kim Junmyeon laughed lightly, “We prefer to call them _actives_ , not whores, Mr. Lu. I am their guardian, I make sure that each of them is comfortable and that their engagements are safe. And while a majority of our clients do prefer engagements of the romantic variety, we do offer a diverse assortment of possibilities.”  
  
“Right,” Lu Han answered in a sarcastic tone. In Lu Han’s haste to follow after Kim Junmyeon, his shoulder bumped into something, or rather, someone. “Oh, I’m sorry about that, are you alright?” he apologized instinctively before he turned to see a male active standing with a dim smile on his face.  
  
 _Kris._  
  
“I try to be my best.”  
  
Lu Han raised an eyebrow at the strange refrain. “Excuse me?”  
  
Kim Junmyeon placed an arm lightly on the back of the blond haired man and smiled up at him, “Say hello to Mr. Lu Han, Alfa.”  
  
“Hello.”  
  
If it had been possible, Lu Han’s would have jumped even higher in disbelief at the odd way that Kris, or _Alfa_ in here, smiled down at him dimly.  
  
“Alfa is one of our most requested actives,” Kim Junmyeon explained with a small smile.  
  
 _Duh. Look at him._ Lu Han laughed in his head, remembering the last time he’d requested Kris.  
  
“I did twenty laps at the pool today,” Alfa added, completely out of context and in that strange disconnected tone that made Lu Han’s insides twist uncomfortably.  
  
“That’s very good, Alfa. Would you like a massage?”  
  
“They’re relaxing.”  
  
Kim Junmyeon signalled to a nearby employee in a simple smock, guiding Foxtrot gently towards him with his hand as Lu Han watched the entire exchange with incredulity. Kris, the domineering male above ground, was reduced to a simple child in here, and apparently, this was _normal_.  He watched the handsome tall man get taken away to another room and turned to address Kim Junmyeon again, “What’s wrong with him?”  
  
“Nothing is _wrong_ with him.” Kim Junmyeon continued and Lu Han imagined that he was being being glared at as they strolled through the underground establishment. “Have you heard of the tabula rasa?”  
  
“Uh, the blank slate theory?” Lu Han answered, not quite as interested as he made himself sound: he was really only down here because he needed an excuse to get Suho to leave him in his office.  
  
“Correct. In their doll state, out actives are like children. It is the most basic form of the human, innocent and free of attachments. Once imprinted, actives will become the person they have been programmed to be. They believe wholly in who they are. They are not liars, and they are not actors.”  
  
Kim Junmyeon climbed a flight of stairs and opened the door to a messy room with glowing monitors. An adjoining room housed a chair with a semi-halo at its head. “We have access to over a hundred thousand brain models. We can take any character trait and construct a full structured personality for each specific engagement. For example, if a high profile client suspected their partner of cheating on them and didn’t trust a private investigator to remain discrete, they would come to us. We would ensure that the client received any evidence, and then the active’s memory would be wiped clean, ensuring full confidentiality.”  
  
“So you get to play god, is the basic idea here,” Lu Han muttered to himself once he was sure Kim Junmyeon was out of earshot. Not that he minded much. He _was_ a frequent client after all.  
  
When the pair returned to the ground floor of the Dollhouse, Kim Junmyeon introduced Lu Han to a man taller than himself with pitch black hair and multiple piercings on both of his ears. “This is Huang Zitao. He’s my head of security. He’s my eyes and ears in this place, and is a capable young man.”  
  
Huang Zitao seemed to give Lu Han a once-over before wearing a dismissive look and turning to Kim Junmyeon, “Sir, Ms. Lin is waiting upstairs for you.”  
  
“Ah, yes, of course,” Kim Junmyeon turned to face Lu Han again, “I’m sorry, but I have an important meeting upstairs. Please feel free to direct any questions to Zitao. He would be more than happy to show you the rest of the place.”  
  
Lu Han took a look at Huang Zitao and knew that he was anything but happy to be stuck with the job of catering to Lu Han’s every need. He raised an eyebrow as he scanned the handsome face and well-toned body. “Is he one of your _actives_?” He asked without turning away from Huang Zitao, raising an eyebrow suggestively.  
  
Kim Junmyeon laughed, “I wish, maybe then I could get him to smile more.” He turned to face Huang Zitao again, “Please take care of Mr. Lu.”  
  
 “Of course, sir.” Huang Zitao turned to glower at Lu Han, clearly unimpressed by Lu Han’s suggestion, “How can I help you, Mr. Lu?”  
  
Lu Han snickered at the reaction and shrugged. “Well, if you’re unavailable, I think I’ve got everything I need, thanks. If you could just show me the way out?”  
  
“Certainly. Follow me.” Huang Zitao turned and started back towards the elevator that Lu Han had rode with Kim Junmyeon.  
  
The metal doors were already closing when Lu Han caught a glimpse of a familiar face and his hand shot out to keep the elevator doors from closing.  
  
“Sir?”  
  
Lu Han barely heard Huang Zitao as he stepped out and his feet started to take him towards his goal.  
  
 _Sehun._  
  
Lu Han stopped when he realised how out of character he was acting. He hardly cared that Kris, Kai, Xiumin, Chen, and even Lay all seemed completely oblivious to everything around them, so why had the sight of Sehun sitting at a small desk pushed him to move?  
  
Huang Zitao appeared next to Lu Han in front of the glass, hands behind his back, “Ah, yes. Sierra. He’s quickly becoming one of the most requested active here, almost, _almost_ beating Alfa and Kilo.”  
  
“Popular, huh?” Lu Han muttered, suddenly feeling annoyed that Sehun was spending his time with other clients.  
  
“With a face like that, how could he not be?”  
  
Huang Zitao’s words only served to annoy Lu Han further. He peeled his eyes from Sehun’s soft features to the puzzle he was working on at his desk.  
  
“Yes, that is the same puzzle that Sehun wanted to buy for you. Sehun wanted to complete it for you so we let Sierra do it for him.” Huang Zitao answered nonchalantly, having followed Lu Han’s gaze.  
  
Lu Han clenched his jaw and turned away. “We were leaving?” He muttered, starting back towards the elevator.  
  
…  
  
“What do we have?” Lu Han asked immediately upon locating Kyungsoo.  
  
Kyungsoo shrugged, “I’m in, but I have no idea for how long.” He proceeded to move the cursor over a series of  folders, “What are we looking for?”  
  
“Try ‘Sierra’.”  
  
Kyungsoo made a noise of compliance and typed quickly. “Which version?” he asked, when folders with ‘v.1.0’, ‘v.2.0’, and ‘v.3.0’ turned up.  
  
“The most recent one. I’m guessing 3.”  
  
The familiar face of Oh Sehun popped up on-screen as paragraphs of words typed themselves.  
  
… only child… poised to enter law school… arranged marriage… ran away… contracted for three years…  
  
Lu Han barely got through half of the document before his attention was taken by something else: an icon with _his_ name on it. “Wait, what’s that?” He asked, pointing at the corner of the screen, urging to Kyungsoo to move the cursor there instead.  
  
Only before anything could be extracted, the screen cleared itself of its contents and Lu Han was left only with a black screen and a blinking cursor. “The hell happened?” He asked as Kyungsoo tapped manicly at his keyboard.  
  
“They found us,” Kyungsoo finally answered, collapsing into the back of his seat. “We’re locked out.”  
  
“What? Can you get back in?”  
  
Kyungsoo gave an amused look in Lu Han’s direction, “Well, of course. Can’t you tell that we’re already back?” He rolled his eyes when Lu Han looked confused, “No. And before you suggest it, I don’t think we can try again anytime soon. They’re bound to be fortifying their defenses right now.”  
  
Lu Han growled, “Aren’t you supposed to be the best?”  
  
Kyungsoo smirked, “There are 7 billion people in this world,” he explained ambiguously as he started to pack up again.  
  
Lu Han swore under his breath and resisted the urge to throw his coffee mug into the wall. With a deep breath, he motioned vaguely at the mess of wires, “I’ll have someone come up and help you with all this,” he said before leaving the room and making his way back to his own office.  
  
There was a lot to think about.  
  
…  
  
“Let him go,” Lu Han said finally, turning to face Suho squarely as he entered the room and pulling out the chequebook from his jacket’s inside pocket. He had shown up to Suho’s office under the pretense of finishing the design for Tango that he didn’t finish on his last trip here.  
  
“Pardon?”  
  
“Your Sierra.” Lu Han scribbled a handsome nine-figure dollar amount and ripped the rectangular sheet out, folding it before handing it to Suho. “This should more than sufficiently cover for the earnings he would have made for the Dollhouse in the two and a half more years he is supposed to be here for.”  
  
“Mr. Lu. We do not authorize permanent imprints.”  
  
Lu Han shook his head, putting down the folded cheque on the table when Suho didn’t take it. “I’m not talking about that. I want you to release him from his contract early. Put his original personality back. And don’t tell his parents,” Lu Han added as an afterthought as he recalled the summary he’d read in Sierra’s file.  
  
“I’m sorry, but our actives are not to be relieved of their contract ahead of their schedule. This is just how things are done.”  
  
“Then, shall I announce to the public that I’m your puppet? I’m sure your shareholders will be pleased about the public backlash from that announcement. I suppose reporters will have a field day.”  
  
“Excuse me?”  
  
Lu Han stood and straightened his suit calmly, “Your Active brain architecture. It’s in my head. I know that’s the reason why I recovered from my accident so quickly and why I’m no longer an overgrown child with no ambition. The Dollhouse needed a public figure under their thumb and my accident was the perfect opportunity, wasn’t it?”  
  
Suho remained quiet.  
  
“Now, I don’t care what you meant by it, nor what plans you have, but I’ll play your game. I will admit that I am a better person, and if that’s because of the program you’ve written for me, that’s fine by me, I don’t really care. In fact, I commend you on the clever execution. Having me a frequent customer of the Dollhouse, so that you can have your dolls set up with a secondary protocol to update the software,” – Lu Han tapped the side of his head a couple of times – “Every now and again. I expect the intent was to secure ERS’ continued support for the Dollhouse.” Lu Han picked up cheque and held it out once more towards Suho, stepping deliberately towards his desk, “You have two choices here. Take the money and set Sierra free, or I take my condition to the press. Since the Dollhouse derives a lot of its resources from ERS, I’m sure your superiors will be _so_ pleased when ERS shares drop like hot potatoes because their CEO is a nut-job who thinks his mind isn’t his.”  
  
Suho swallowed and Lu Han couldn’t help but smirk just a little as he pushed the cheque across the desk at him. “I will be expecting Kai this Sunday ‘round noon.” He said flatly before replacing his checkbook and turning to leave the office.


	5. Epilogue

It had been half a year since the last time Lu Han made a request from the Dollhouse. He’d kept his promise to play their game, showing up weekly to let the Dollhouse engineers play with his head. Lu Han had tried not to, but the headaches he received after a month of avoidance were unbearable, and the Dollhouse had made good on their agreement; it was Lu Han’s turn to uphold his end. He never saw Sierra at the spa-like premises underground again but he found himself frequently avoiding the childlike gazes of the Dolls of his past engagements whenever he reported for his weekly appointments, especially Kai, or as they referred to him down here, Kilo.  
  
…  
  
 “Taro milk tea with tapioca, please. Regular size will be fine.” he ordered from the cashier. Lu Han never used to enjoy the beverage, but ever since meeting Sehun, his tastes had changed. When he reached behind him into his back pocket for his wallet, his elbow made contact with another customer. “Sorry,” he muttered half-heartedly, not bothering to turn around.  
  
“Oh, don’t worry about it. I should have been watching where I was going.”  
  
Lu Han’s arm remained hovered over his back pocket, the colour draining from his face at the familiar voice.  
  
“Sir?” The cashier asked, having noticed the way Lu Han had frozen up and springing Lu Han out of his daze.  
  
“Sorry, can you put my order on hold? I’ll be right back,” Lu Han asked, not bothering to wait for a response before turning around and searching for the owner of the voice. It took him a second before he recognized the tall and lean frame of Sehun, wearing a loose t-shirt and jeans, retreating out the entrance.  
  
“Hey!” Lu Han called out once he’d stepped outside. “You forgot something!”  
  
The tall brunette turned around and Lu Han searched his pockets for anything that he could use for his sad excuse. All he found was his cell phone.  
  
“Oh, I think you have the wrong person,” he answered, holding out his own phone with the hand that wasn’t holding on to a chocolate bubble tea and wearing an apologetic smile upon his face.  
  
“Ah, sorry about that,” Lu Han replied, not able to hold back his grin any more. Finally realising he was smiling like an idiot, he cleared his throat. “Well, you have a good day then, sir,” he greeted, before turned to leave again.  
  
“Wait!”  
  
Lu Han paused in mid-rotation, playing with the edge of the sweater he was wearing, the one Sehun had stolen the first time he’d shown up in Lu Han’s life and then returned the second time.  
  
“Do I know you from somewhere?”  
  
Lu Han laughed, “Well, I’m on the cover of ‘The Economist’ again this month.”  
  
A frown formed on Sierra’s face, “No, that’s not it… I really have no interest in the business world.”  
  
Lu Han smiled ruefully before turning away again. He’d caught a glimpse of Sehun again, and that was enough. It was enough to know that he was out in the real world again, buying bubble teas like a normal human being. It _should_ be enough, anyway.  
  
“Lu Han?”  
  
Lu Han stopped in his tracks.  
  
“Are you sure we don’t know each other?”


End file.
